Choosing a Major

There is no statistical evidence that the choice of major significantly affects an applicant's chances of being accepted to medical school. Accordingly, the best advice we can give you is to follow your passion and academic interests when you select your major. If you enjoy your courses, you are more likely to learn. In contrast, if you choose to major in a science only because you think it will help impress medical schools with your commitment to science, but you are not really interested in science, you will probably not do well and will not enjoy your undergraduate education. The same goes for someone who chooses a nonscience major because they think it will help them stand out from the crowd. If that person is not truly interested in his or her choice of major, the likely outcome will be a generally lackluster academic performance.

As discussed above, most premed students choose to major in a science in part because the medical school prerequisites and courses likely to help them prepare for the MCAT are mostly science courses. However, many successful applicants to medical school do choose nonscience majors, in which case they must carefully plan their curriculum as described in the Choosing Your Courses section.